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Thomas Jackson II
Thomas Jonathan Jackson II (born September 14, 1900) is an American Politician that is serving as the Governor of the state of Arizona since 1951. He also served as the Junior United States Senator from Virginia from 1947 to 1950. A member of the Democratic party Thomas also served as a representative of Virginia's 10th District. Early Life Thomas was born in Manassas, Virginia. He is the only child born to Mary Graham Jackson and Alexander Stenton. He is also the grandson of the famed Civil War General Stonewall Jackson . When Thomas was 7 his father abandoned him to start a 2nd life in Cuba. Without Thomas's father to help take care of him he was sent by his mother to go live with her cousin in Mobile, Alabama. In 1911 he ran away from his home in a desperate way of making his way back to Virginia. He was found a year later living in Beaver Creek Swamp with a man that he had befriended. It was in that swamp that Thomas learned to make his famed pies. Military Service At the age of 41 in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Thomas volunteered to fight for the US Army in the Pacific. On December 8, 1941 he was given the task of defending Wake Island from invading Japanese forces. He was 1 of only 5 US Army personnel on the Island when the Battle of Wake Island began. For 10 days Thomas fought hard with the rest of his comrades, however ,on December 22, 1941 ,a Japanese soldier shot off Thomas's pinky finger with an Arisaka 99 Rifle ending his Military service. House of Representatives Thomas returned home to Virginia in January 1942 and celebrated by marrying his second wife Mary Custis Lee (granddaughter of Robert E. Lee) together they conceived one child and named him Huck after Thomas's favorite childhood story The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Following the birth of his son Thomas ran for the House of Representatives to represent Virginia's 10th District, a position he won purely based on the fact he bribed his voters with Pie. In the House Thomas was a silent representative as he didn't voice his opinions as often as he should have, he chose not to run for reelection in 1945 as he had something to plan for. Senate In early 1946 Thomas announced he would run for the Senate. He didn't receive much attention as many were disappointed with his performance in the house. To combat this he stepped up his game made a plan and got endorsements from some close friends like Governor William M. Tuck and the legendary Hank Williams. Through intense debate against the Republican Candidate Lester S. Parsons the people's trust in Thomas as a candidate skyrocketed which definitely helped in his eventually victory in becoming Senator alongside Theodore Sanders. Speech in Virginia Thomas had spent most of his life growing up in the deep south, A land of segregation, lynching, and racism and he unfortunately found himself becoming a segregationist just so he could keep his position of Senator of Virginia. However after 3 years of allowing others to tell him what to believe Thomas decided it was time to speak truthfully about how he thought. On Valentines Day 1950 Thomas appeared before a crowd of Citizens in Richmond. This was his first public appearance since he had gotten shot in the leg by Former Representative David Hollins. However on that gray, rainy day Thomas surprised his audience by reciting a speech he had prepared ever since he was taken to the hospital. The speech was received with major criticism from the public and the negative attention drove Thomas away from his home. Escape to Arizona Rather than face attack by angry opposers because his political views. Thomas packed his bags and moved his family to Glendale, Arizona . At the time that Thomas moved to Arizona, the state was almost entirely segregationist. Rather than just live his life with a clean slate Thomas decided to run for Governor under promise of equal rights to all races. Thomas eventually became so dedicated to winning he decided to join the Catholic Church which the majority of Arizona was a part of. (Only to later join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) Victory as Governor In November 1951 the results were in and only by a small margin did Thomas beat the Republican opponent John Howard Pyle. But nonetheless he was the governor-elect, Months of planning and careful campaigning led to that moment. The people not only voted for Thomas, they voted for his ideals. They voted for Desegregation. Or so he thought......